Hurricane Ian devastated the East Coast this week. Heard so many stories that broke my heart. One in particular about 72yo Florida man, died tragically when lowering water level in his pool. He went outside around 1AM and was found in canal behind his house. So before instructions for preparations, please keep in mind your safety comes first and in no way pool isn't more important than you. Stay sheltered and prepare in time.
Keep your pool full
Turn off the power
Disconnect electric pool equipment (pump, time clock, light transformers, pool heaters, robo-cleaners)
Remove everything from the pool, toys, cleaners, robo-skimmers...
Shock your pool
Uncover your pool. Debris from the storm can damage the pool cover
Move patio furniture away (no need to sink the set in water just make sure it's away enough not to end up in the pool)
All this should really fit in less than an hour, however if you didn't manage to prepare in time, just forget about it and call pool pro to deal with aftermath (cheaper then hospital bills and God forbid, funeral arrangements, funny but not funny).
Cleaning your pool after a hurricane should be priority. Especially if your water stayed cloudy. First and foremost, glad you're safe and sound, hopefully no damage at all and now just got to tidy up and remove debris from here and there. Here is what you should do with pool.
Don't drain your pool water
Empty the pump and skimmer baskets
Check electrical equipment, and restore power when it's safe
Balance water chemistry and shock the pool again (if turned green)
Run the circulation and filtration system until the water is clear
If it's sound like a lot of work for you, call pool professional for help. We have prorated visits for after storm clean ups, but you have to schedule in advance (it's ok to cancel if aftermath is not what was forecasted, but it's impossible to hop on the schedule after the storm). Majority of our clients that only need us for open and close, usually need us for after storm clean ups too, so we are always overbooked that period.
As always, thank you for being here, I hope you can enjoy your pool all autumn long, no troubles no hurricanes ;)